Richard Jefferson was brutally frank about our science establishment (“Science is for people”, June 22). But since these are the views of a highly respected scientist one has to accept his assessment, especially since he has had a long association with Indian research bodies. Although he has identified the problem differently, calling it tribalism and absolutism, Jefferson is only echoing what many of our most eminent scientists themselves have been pointing out. A couple of years ago I recall that C N R Rao, chairman of the Science Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, took a rather dim view of the dismal performance of Indian science, which, of course, invited the wrath of the science babus who harked back to the glory days of Pandit Nehru! Rao had some depressing figures to prove his point: India’s contribution to world scientific research was less than 3 per cent while that of China was soaring. The number of PhDs that India produces is just around 4,000 while Brazil turns out about 10,000 and China 16,000. Our scientists are happy to be part of an establishment where neither merit nor performance is rewarded. Yet, we go overboard each time
Venkatapathy R S, Bangalore
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